Distillate petroleum product and method of treating the same



, r emoval from the condenser.

however, to add the catalyst before any appreciable quantity of atmospheric oxygen has been taken up by the distillate, because oxygen in Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITE DISTILLATE PETROLEUM PRODUCT AND METHOD OF TREATING THE SAME James B. Rather and Leslie 0. Beard, Brooklyn, and Orland M. Reilf, Jackson Heights, N. Y., assignors to Socony-Vacuum Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing. Application June 19, 1930,

Serial No. 462,411 a a 8 Claims.

This invention relates to distillate petroleum products, more particularly gasoline and kerosene and to a method of and means for imparting a stability thereto with respect to color, gum formation and color.

This application is a continuation in part of our prior co-pending applications Serial No. 151,005, filed November 26th. 1926, and Serial No. 165,546, filed February 3. 1927.

It is well recognized that distributors and consumers of the lighter refined petroleum distillates, notably gasoline and kerosene, insist that these products be clear and free from discoloration, gummy material and odor, as an entirely distinct and separate matter from the actual capabilities and usefulness of the products for the ordinary uses for which they are intended. It is also well recognized that these products, particularly gasoline and kerosene, spontaneously become discolored and odorous and accumulate a gummy material upon continued exposure to air and thus become objectionable to the trade.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a distillate petroleum product, generally those of A. P. I. gravity higher than 37 degrees, and particularly gasoline or kerosene, which will remain clear and free of discoloration, gummy material and odor, without impairment or lowering of its effectiveness and capabilities for use; and to provide a simple and inexpensive method of and means for producing distillate petroleum products having the characteristics and qualities referred to.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description.

In accordance with this invention, the improved product consists of a distillate petroleum product, notably gasoline or kerosene, which contains a negative oxidation catalyst, or a substance, such as a compound containing carbon, which retards the attainment of equilibrium in a chemical system in which oxidation is the fundamental reaction. The catalyst may be added in the still during distillation, or placed in the condenser in which the distillate is condensed, or may be added to the distillate after It is advisable,

' .i'appreciable quantities is apt to cause the formation in the distillate of substances which tend to'promote the addition of further oxygen and thus may offset any advantage to be gained by the subsequent addition of the negative oxidation catalyst to the distillate. These objectionable substances, while frequently colorless and odorless, are apt to undergo changes which result in the development of objectionable color, gummy material and odor in the distillates.

The negative oxidation catalyst or catalysts should preferably be of a nature such that, when added to the distillate petroleum products in sufiicient quantities, they do not afiect the color and odor, or materially increase the cost of production of the products to which they are added, since such eifects would raise commercial objections to the products.

We have discovered that the dihydroxy benzenes, consisting of hydroquinone, resorcinol and pyrocatechol are efiective as stabilizers of distillate petroleum products with respect to color, gum formation and odor.

These compounds or agents are preferably dissolved in a suitable solvent which is miscible with the distillate, such as an aliphatic alcohol, either isopropyl, ethyl or butyl alcohol, or an aromatic alcohol, such as benzyl alcohol before being added to the product to be treated. A ten per cent solution of the compound or agent in the desired solvent is preferably thoroughly mixed with the product, and the amount of the solution to be added may vary from approximately one part in five thousand of the distillate to approximately one part in fifty thousand, the exact amount depending upon the amount of stabilization desired, the character of the distillate, i. e., its susceptibility to oxidation, and the storage temperature.

Preferably, however, not more than approximately one part of compound to ten thousand parts of the distillate or 0.01% of the compound should be added to the product to be treated, and the amount may, in some instances, be as little as one part of the compound to five hundred thousand parts of the distillate. Care should be exercised, however, to not add too large a quantity of the compound, otherwise the compound will tend to cause discoloration of the product by imparting its own color thereto.

As an example of the practice of this invention, approximately five pounds of hydroquinone are dissolved in approximately five gallons of isopropyl or secondary butyl alcohol. This solution is added to the distillate petroleum product to be treated, with appropriate agitation, in the proportion of approximately one part of the above solution to from approximately ten thousand to twenty thousand parts of the distillate,

the exact amount depending upon the amount of stabilization desired. A distillate treated with approximately one part of hydroquinone to approximately seventy-five thousand parts of distillate and allowed to stand for a period oftwenty-six weeks at 125 F., deteriorated in color from plus 20, as measured by the Saybolt chromometer to plus 11, as against a deterioration in color in the case of an untreated distillate of from plus 20 Saybolt to minus 4, both the treated and the untreated distillate being stored under exactly the same conditions, a loss of 9 points in color, in the case of the stabilized oil, as compared with a loss of 24 points in the case of the unstabilized oil.

Since the lighter distillate petroleum products, particularly gasoline and kerosene, must be maintained comparatively inexpensive in order to satisfactorily cope with commercial competition, any treatment to which these products are subjected must be such that the cost of production of the" products is not increased a prohibitive amount. The method and means herein disclosed satisfactorily meets this situation since the amount of negative catalyst required for the treatment is so small that the cost of' production of the products is not material. And the products treated in accordance with this invention may be stored and handled without danger of becoming discolored or odorous or developing gummy substances therein.

While we have thus specifically described our invention, various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and it istherefore our intention that the invention be not limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A low boiling normally light colored dis tillate'petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to become discolored during storage, having added'thereto, prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration, as an addition agent incorporated into the said product which normally does not contain said agent, a small quantity of a dihydroxy benzene sumcient in amount substantially to retard the aforesaid discoloration.

2. The method of stabilizing a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become discolored during storage, which comprises adding to said product prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration a small quantity of adihydroxy benzene sufiicient substantially to retard spontaneous color formation.

'3. A low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to become discolored during storage, having added thereto prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration, as an addition agent incorporated into the said product which normally does not contain said agent, a small quantity of hydroquinone suflicient in amount substantially to retard the aforesaid discoloration.

4. The method of stabilizing a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become'discolored during storage, which comprises adding to, said product prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration a small quantity'of hydroquinone sufiicient substantially to retardspontaneous color formation.

5. A low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to become discolored during storage, having added thereto prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration, as an addition agent incorporated into the said product which normally does not contain said agent, a small quantity of pyrocatechol sufiicient in amount substantially to retard the aforesaid discoloration.

6. The method of stabilizing a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become discolored during storage, which comprises adding to said product prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration a small quantity of pyrocatechol suficient substantially to retard spontaneous color formation. 1

7. A low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene which normally tends to become discolored during storage, having added thereto 1 prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration, as an addition agent incorporated into the said product which normally does not contain said agent, a small quantity of resorcinol sufiicient in amount substantially to retard the aforesaid discoloration. 8. The method of stabilizing a low boiling normally light colored distillate petroleum product of the class of gasoline or kerosene that normally tends to become discolored during storage,

which comprises adding to said product prior to substantial spontaneous discoloration a small quantity of resorcinol suflicient substantially to retard spontaneous color formation.

JAMES B. RATHER. LESLIE C. BEARD, JR. ORLAND M. REIFF. 

